Rumour and suspicion that threatens Afghan aid

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When Hamid Karzai swept on to the international stage at a donors’ meeting in Tokyo in 2002, he was fêted as the saviour of Afghanistan - the only man who could reunite and rebuild the nation after three decades of war.

As Western leaders lauded his political skills, fashion editors gushed over his trademark Uzbek coat and Karakul lambswool hat. Gucci’s Tom Ford hailed him as the most chic man in the world.

But whatever Mr Karzai says - or wears - when he attends the next donors’ meeting, beginning in Paris tomorrow, he is losing some of his lustre in the eyes